Robert Davi of Raw Deal, Predator 2 and The Goonies, might not have had a brutal on-screen battle with Schwarzenegger but I’d learn he did have many off-screen ones. All in good fun, these two would give each other a hard time on the set of Raw Deal and Davi saves his best behind-the-scenes stories for us at TheArnoldFans!
TheArnoldFans: You worked with Schwarzenegger in Raw Deal. What’s you best Arnold story?
Robert Davi: My best Arnold story is when we were filming Raw Deal and what happened is…I think it was in North Carolina and we were filming at the beach and right away when we started filming, he and I were already checking each other out. We had not met each other before. So we’re living on the beach and he’s in the downstairs apartment and I’m upstairs and I hear this noise at my window. And you know what those poppers are? So I’m hearing these things go off like caps going periodically. I’m like what the hell is this so I look out my window and it’s Arnold throwing these things up at my window. So what I did was I went to the bathroom and I emptied the garbage pale and filled it up with soapsuds and water. It was foaming over with soapsuds. Opened my doors, went out to the balcony, and when he was walking by with a brand new, newly-lit, expensive cigar, talking to Maria and others. Just as he was under my window twenty feet below, I dumped the pale of water on his head. BULLSEYE! Soap suds coming off his cigar. He doesn’t tell this story. It isn’t in his new book. Soap suds off his new cigar and instead of flinching, he just looked up at me like this (evil eye) and he says, ‘this means war.’
TheArnoldFans: And did he get you back?
Robert Davi: Yeah, we’d go back and fourth. There’s another story about a coat we both had in Raw Deal. When I first met him, coming outside of the hotel, I had this mauve collared John Paul Gaultier Overcoat. You know, the kind that goes down to your calves – one of those nice ones and the color was interesting. So he comes in with his guys and I’m coming out and I have the coat on and he has the coat on. The same coat. He goes, ‘where did you get your coat? At Maxwell Blue?’ I said, yeah, isn’t it a great coat? Then, one day while we were filming, I said, remember that coat we were wearing? I’m going to be able to wear it in the film and I’m going to get an endorsement from Gaultier. He didn’t say anything. So the day comes when I’m going to wear it and I called the director ahead of time, and I said, John, can I wear this fuckin’ suit? And he says, sure, why not? Absolutely. So I come in with the coat and Arnold goes, ‘what are you doing?’ I said I’m wearing the coat in this scene. I’m going to get an endorsement deal. So we’re rehearsing the scene and all of a sudden he says to John, ‘When is Robert going to get in wardrobe? It looks like he’s got a bathrobe on.’ The next thing I know John says, ‘Robert, take off the coat and just wear it over your shoulder.’ I said, fuck that. When John left, I said to Arnold, I’m going to go tell Dino De Laurentiis that I should be able to wear the coat. Then I walked out and I went to the bathroom just because I wanted Arnold to think I went to see Dino. I came back with a big smile on my face and played it off like I got the okay. I think Arnold wanted that endorsement deal.
TheArnoldFans: After all that back-and-fourth high jinx, have you and Arnold managed to stay friends?
Robert Davi: Absolutely, he’s still a friend.
TheArnoldFans: What are your top three favorite Arnold movies?
Robert Davi: Terminator, Twins and Total Recall. And also True Lies
TheArnoldFans: Have you heard any rumors of a Goonies sequel?
Robert Davi: The rumors of Goonies 2 is that there’s gonna be a musical. But who knows? I’ve heard more Goonies movie rumors than ever.
Thanks, Robert for the fantastic, untold Arnold stories!
For those of you Schwarzenegger fans who are planning a trip to Oregon to visit the Kindergarten Cop filming locations, you’re in luck if you’re also a fan of The Goonies. Both films were filmed in the town of Astoria! 